Miner killed at Virginia coal mine

A miner at Alpha Natural Resources’ (ANR) Deep Mine 41 has been killed in an accident thought to have occurred during a standard pre-shift examination.

David Brummitte was found at 5:10 AM on Monday. He was treated at the scene before being taken to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 7:45 AM.

Brummitte had worked for ANR affiliate Paramont Coal Co. since 2013 and was a certified workplae examiner. There were no witnesses to the accident but preliminary information suggests he was struck by rock sloughing off the mine wall, ANR said in a press release.

Deep Mine 41 is located near McClure in Virginia. Brummite’s death is the second is as many weeks in the US coal industry, following the death of one and injury of two others at Murray Energy Corp’s Marshall County coal mine in West Virginia last week.